Jurassic Park III

Being a ‘third movie’ in any series must be very difficult, I mean, you pretty much know that the ‘end’ is basically getting near, there isn’t going to be a lot more after, ‘the third movie’! Hollywood being who they are, it really does seems that trilogies are the IN thing, after all, the upcoming Jurassic World is planned as being the beginning of yet another trilogy. I guess what I’m trying to get at, is, who really thinks that the third movie is going to be better than the first two? Part 3 movies no doubt have a lot of pressure on them, especially when the audiences are thinking, ‘another one of those, really? Didn’t they all die already?’ Or something incredibly ‘positive’ like that.

I think that being a director to a ‘third movie’, is even more heart wrenching, especially when you are following two movies directed by Steven Spielberg, I mean, come on, who thinks they are going to do a better job than Spielberg? Joe Johnston was interested in directing The Lost World: Jurassic park, but Spielberg refused and said that if there was a third instalment, he would be able to direct that instead. Joe Johnston and Spielberg are good friends, so I am certain they aren’t thinking competitively against each other, but still, it’s a tough task for sure!

Personally, I love all the Jurassic movies, the John Williams score always get me! Although John Williams did not compose the score for this film, her did give Don Davis, permission to use the iconic ‘theme’, and the resulting score is still enough to get me going. Jurassic Park is my favourite of the films, and I love the Raptors in The Lost World. Part three, i’d never actually finished watching until recently, so I am glad that I am finally up to speed with it all. Jurassic Park 3 is a touch more ‘fun’, for me, than was The Lost World. Why?

The Lost World really wanted to be taken seriously, and it is a great film, lost of action and amazing VFX, but the characters had very little depth, whereas Jurassic Park 3 is right off the bat, a less serious film, I say this because first of all it’s considerably shorter than the first two. A 92 minute film straight away says to me, this film is not intended to be an EPIC. Plus the human element in this film is a lot more ‘laid-back’, the characters are almost ‘cartoonish’, in the best of ways, and there is humour sprinkled more generously in this instalment. The goofy nature of the script and plot, somehow elevate this film, plus it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, and there is a new player in town, a new threat!

The fact that Sam Neill is back for this instalment makes the film instantly familiar, plus Sam Neill has an amazing on-screen presence, the man is an icon! We are also graced with a cameo of Laura Dern, and that is cool too. The action sequences are good, but don’t have the Spielbergian flare, although I must admit that this film does have one of the best dinosaur kills. This time a dinosaur is killing another dinosaur, it’s deadly insane, to say the least.

When we consider the technical aspects to this film, the dinosaurs look gorgeous, no doubt after 8 years, computers where more up to the task of rendering these enormous beasts. CGI has come a long way since, so I am expecting big things from Jurassic World. Another interesting point is that the new bigger dinosaur in Jurassic Park 3 weighed in at 12 ton, the animatronic version of it, that is.

Jurassic Park 3 is not as polished as 1 and 2, but it still manages to entertain and get the adrenaline going! No doubt, if this film had not been a ‘three movie’, it would have had less pressure to perform, and would have more fans. I am a fan and I think that the entire Jurassic Series is essential viewing, they are the closest thing we have to satisfying our curiosity of dinosaurs!

Bring on Jurassic World! Is it June 11th yet…?

TRIVIA COOKIES: The initial version of this film involved a group of teenagers stranded on the island, and a rescue mission headed by Dr. Grant. About $18 Million was spent on this idea, until it was scrapped. The new script was not even completed when they started filming. This could explain why the script and plot seem a little goofy.

The still below is a clear nod to Spielberg and his film, Indiana Jones: The Temple of doom.

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